Apparatus for collecting or arranging cigarettes



I D. W. MOLlNS 2 965 215 APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING 0R ARRANGING CIGARETTES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 20, 1960 Flled Aug 1 19 BTS N GOLE GKINDLE l Ball A TTORNE Y3 Deii. 20, 1960 D. W. MOLINS APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING 0R ARRANGING CIGARETTES Filed Aug. 1, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /N l/E N TOR pEsMmvn wnmeg un/s NIH-50H CaLE G-KIIVBLELWQTSW ATTORNEY United States Patent() APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING R ARRANG- ING CIGARETTES Desmond Walter Molins, Deptford, London, England, as-

signor to Molins Machine Company Limited, London, England, a British company Filed Aug. 1, 1957, Ser. No. 675,590

Claims priority, application Great Britain Aug. 9, 1956 -1 Claim. (Cl. 198-33) This invention concerns improvements in or relating to apparatus for collecting or arranging cigarettes.

When cigarettes are being conveyed sideways, for example on the catcher band of a cigarette-making machine, it is sometimes desired to reverse their orientation. For example, when cigarettes are provided with mouthpiece portions, such as cork tips,.or such as stubs or the like, it is usual to employ a double-length mouthpiece portion which is cut in half in order to produce individual mouthpiece cigarettes. The latter are then usually conveyed sideways in two rows, and normally the mouthpiece ends of the cigarettes in one row will all point in one direction, while those of the cigarettes in the other row will point in the otherdirection. A similar situation may arise when plain cigarettes are provided with printing at one end. For convenience in collection, or to facilitate inspection, it is often de irable in such cases to have all the cigarettes in both rows pointing in one direction, and one way of accomplishing this is to turn those cigarettes which form one row, in order to reverse their orientation.

According to the present invention there is provided, in apparatus for feeding cigarettes, means to feed cigarettes sideways one after the other, and a pair of opposed endless flexible elements arranged to receive between them the said cigarettes and to continue the sidewavs feed of the cigarettes, the said pair of elements being twisted in such manner as to cause cigarettes being fed between them to reverse their orientation while being so fed.

The said flexible elements may be endless bands arranged to receive the cigarettes between their opposed faces and to pass over upper and lower pairs of rollers, the opposed surfaces of said bands being arranged to pass from an upper to a lower roller, and from a lower to an upper roller, respectively.

There may be provided a further moving surface (e.g. a further endless band) to engage a part of a cigarette projecting from between the said opposed bands and to assist in guiding it.

Cigarettes may be fed in two rows and a further pair of endless bands provided to receive and feed one row of cigarettes without reversing their orientation.

The two pairs of bands may be interchangeable whereby the cigarettes of either row may be received and have their orientation reversed by the twisted bands.

A catcher band may be provided to receive cigarettes whose orientation has been reversed and to continue their sideways movement.

Apparatus according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a part of the delivery end of a machine for making mouthpiece cigarettes; and

Figure 2 is a side View.

A fluted carrier wheel 1 conveys assemblages or united groups each consisting of two cigarette lengths with a 2,965,215 Patented Dec. 20, 1960 .2 double-length mouthpiece portion arranged hetwe engin line with, and joined to them. A circular rotary disc knife 2 is arranged to divide these assemblages into individual mouthpiece cigarettes by cutting through "the mouthpiece portions as the assemblages are carried sideways, past the knife, by the carrier wheel 1. 'In Pfiguie 1, for clearness, only two uncut assemblages are shown on the carrier Wheel, and only two mouthpiece cigarettes which have just been cut from an assemblage.

The carrier wheel 1 comprises a number of spaced fluted discs, and a series of plates 3, spaced apart and arranged to extend between the discs,"strip the cigarettes from the flutes of the carrier 1 and deliverthem to'two pairs of flexible endless feeding bands 4 and 5, 6and 7, which continue the sideways feed of the cigarettes.

Adjacent the carrier 1, the bands 4 and 6 pass over'a. pair of upper rollers 8 and 9 respectively, which fare rotatable on pins 10 carried in brackets 11 which "are adjustably mounted on an arm 12. The bands 5 and 7 pass about lower rollers 13 and 14 respectively, which are closer to the carrier 1 than are the rollers 8 and 9, and which are mounted for rotation on a shaft 15.

The bands extend from the rollers mentioned above to upper rollers 16 and 17, mounted on a shaft 18, and lower rollers 19 and 20, mounted on a shaft 21.

The shafts 18 and 21 are rotatable by gears 22 and 23 fixed thereto in engagement with one another. -Also fixed to the shaft 21 is a sprocket 24 which is arranged to be driven by a chain 25 passing around a driving sprocket 26, which is fixed on the shaft 27 of the carrier wheel 1. Thus the shafts 18 and 21 are caused to rotate in opposite directions as indicated by the arrows, Figure 2, whereby the opposed surfaces of the bands 4 and 5, 6 and 7, which surfaces engage and grip cigarettes, are caused to move forwardly in the same direction.

In Figure 2, for clearness, only the bands 4 and 5 are illustrated.

The bands 6 and 7 are straight, and therefore simply feed cigarettes sideways without altering their orientation. The pair of bands 4 and 5, on the other hand, are twisted through an angle of and in addition the band 4 passes from an upper rollers 8 to a lower roller 19, while the band 5 extends from a lower roller 13 to an upper roller 16. Thus the cigarette-engaging surface of the band 4 is above a cigarette, and that of the band 5 is below it, when the cigarette first enters between the bands; but when the cigarette has reached the end of its travel between the bands, the band 5 is uppermost and the band 4 is beneath the cigarette. Thus each cigarette received between the bands 4 and 5 has its orientation gradually reversed as it is fed along by the bands. In Figure 1 of the drawing seven cigarettes are shown at different stages of their progress while being carried forwardly by the bands 4 and 5, and it will be seen that whereas a cigarette just entering between the bands 4 and 5 has its mouthpiece end pointed towards the right, as seen in the figure, the cigarette just about to leave the bands 4 and 5 has its mouthpiece end directed towards the left.

Only seven cigarettes have been shown between the bands of each pair in order to avoid confusion, but in practice more than seven would normally be accom= modated at any one time.

A further endless band 30 passes about a roller 31 on the shaft 21, and also about an idler roller 32. The band 30, as can be seen from Figure 1, is between the two sets of cigarette-conveying bands, and its purpose is to engage one end portion of a cigarette which is being fed by the bands 4 and 5 and ensure that the cigarrette is substantially horizontal as it approaches the rollers 16 and 19 and therefore will not foul the shaft 21.

From the bands 4 and 5, 6 and 7 the cigarettes fall on to a sloping ramp 33 which guides them on to a catcher band 34 which feeds them forwardly in two rows, with all the cigarettes having their mouthpiece ends pointing in the same direction, as shown in Figure l. A pair of pivoted flaps 35 act to align the cigarettes on the band 34.

'If desired, the bands 4 and 5 could be straight and the bands 6 and 7 twisted, in which case the final orientation of the cigarettes on the catcher band would be the opposite to that shown. It will be seen that in practice it is a simple matter thus to reverse the arrangement of the bands, so that the user of the apparatus can easily and conveniently arrange for the cigarettes to be orientated in whichever direction he wishes.

. What I claim as my invention and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

In apparatus for feeding cigarettes, means to feed cigarettes sideways, a pair of opposed flexible endless bands having opposed cigarette-engaging surfaces arranged to receive between them the said cigarettes and to continue the sideways feed of the cigarettes, the

said bands being arranged to pass over upper and lower pairs of rollers, the opposed surfaces of said bands being arranged to pass from an upper to a lower roller, and from a lower to an upper roller, respectively, whereby the bands are twisted in such manner as to cause cigarettes being fed between them to reverse their orientation while being so fed, the said bands being arranged to deliver said cigarettes with their orientation so reversed, and a further endless band mounted adjacent the said endless bands and having a part arranged to move upwardly to engage a part of a cigarette projecting from between the said opposed bands and to assist in guiding said cigarette part upwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

